Over the past two years, the U.S. has supplied Israel with more than $21 billion in military aid, but public opinion is changing. Polls show half of U.S. voters and three in four Democrats now believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Even still, the campaign acknowledges divestment won’t come easily but sees it as a concrete way for constituents to put pressure on public officials and hold Israel accountable.
“Federal policy is not going to change,” said Lauren Leffler, 31, an organizer with the campaign. “But we can make it politically inconvenient for state officials to continue these investments.”
In the past two years, Israel has turned to international bonds to finance its war machine, including selling $5 billion worth to U.S. investors, mostly state and local governments.
Using Public Information Act requests, the campaign uncovered that Maryland’s state pension system quietly purchased about $10 million in Israel Bonds between July and December 2024, raising its total holdings to $74 million — even as major international funds divest over genocide concerns and credit rating agencies downgrade the investments.
“People can feel really helpless seeing a genocide funded by your tax dollars,” said Leffler. “Until you realize it’s not just at the federal level — it also happens at the state and municipal level. And that’s maybe something I can change.”